When I first encountered the expression “food hall” a couple of years ago, I was skeptical. Was this just a marketing ploy to make food courts sound cool and trendy?
Now Fort Wayne has its very own food hall, Union Street Market on the Electric Works campus.
And people, I am here to tell you, this is not the food court of our youth, with nary a Sbarro or Panda Express in sight. (No offense intended, fast-food chains.) Rather, this reimagined space in the former General Electric campus hosts a diverse collection of local fast-casual eateries.
Ideal environment
The East Hall is home to fresh food merchants.
The West Hall is the food hall, with roughly a dozen restaurants serving up deliciousness. Open daily, they have something for everyone: coffee and pastries, sandwiches, pizza, barbecue, Thai, Korean, and Middle Eastern fare, ice cream, alcoholic libations, and more.
The vibe is super-chill, with several seating options including a gallery upstairs overlooking the hall. In warm weather, large windows are rolled open like giant garage doors. The courtyard outside has tables for eating, chairs for lounging, plus cornhole and other games. On a recent Friday night there was live music outside, and it wasn’t too loud for middle-aged me to enjoy being there.
Slice of life
I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface on trying all the foods (I’m working on it!), but I’ve already had some standout meals there.
Two friends with East Coast roots had told me that Johnny Ox Pizzeria was legit. As someone who is a fan of New York-style pizza, I was itching to try it. They sell by the slice during the day, but in the evening, they only sell (giant) whole pies. On busy days, they might run out — I know this because we got shut out the first time we tried to get it. Call ahead to make sure they’re still selling for the day? Nope! No phone! It’s the pizza lottery — some days you win, some days you’re out of luck. But you know what? It’s worth it.
I’m of the mindset that most pizza is good pizza, but this was great pizza. We got straight-up plain cheese, which is my favorite — I’m a pizza purist — and it was exactly the right amount of sauce and cheesy goodness. But the crust was truly magical: so, so thin, yet the edge was puffy, chewy, crunchy, and flavorful, all the things pizza crust should be.
I felt like I wanted to evangelize about this pizza. Immediately after eating it, I started texting friends to tell them about it, wanting everyone I know to try it. I’m eager to have it again.
Always try Thai
On another visit, I tried O-Cha Thai.
They got their start at the downtown farmers markets, and I’d had their egg rolls and samosas before, so I was excited to see them set up a permanent location, especially since I don’t usually want egg rolls for breakfast (when I’m doing my farmers market shopping).
When I visited them for dinner, I tried the pad Thai with chicken and I got two egg rolls: one ground turkey, one vegan. I know some meat eaters out there won’t believe me when I say this, but I could not tell the difference between their meatless and meatful (that’s totally a word) versions. Both were light and flaky and I enjoyed them immensely.
The pad Thai was a huge portion, easily providing a second meal’s worth of leftovers. It had a lot of crunchy bean sprouts providing great texture along with the usual chopped peanuts. It was sweet and tangy, and I would happily have it again.
Obviously, all the food in the hall comes in disposable containers, and O-Cha Thai uses compostable packaging. I appreciated that consideration.
Going different route
On my third trip to Union Street Market, I had every intention of getting tacos or a bowl from Pikoso Burrito Co. However, I got completely distracted by an item on their menu that seemed a little out of place with their Mexican cuisine.
What I found was the Mediterranean Bowl: rice, falafel, hummus, Tzatziki cream, tomatoes, cabbage, cucumber, and pickled red onions. Usually, my philosophy is to order within the confines of a restaurant’s specialties: Mexican restaurants are not where one goes to get falafel. But it was so interesting to me that they offered it that I threw caution to the wind and ordered it. Holy guacamole — or should I say holy hummus? — am I glad I did. It was bomb.
The presentation was beautiful, the falafel was crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and full of flavor. It was lovely to be able to take a little of this and a little of that and construct a perfect bite.
I still need to try their tacos or burritos, but now that I know how good the Mediterranean Bowl is, it’s going to be hard for me to resist when I go back. Maybe Gibli, the Middle Eastern restaurant in the neighboring stall has really excellent tacos, who knows?
As someone who lives on the south side of Fort Wayne, it’s exciting to see the rebirth of the Electric Works property and especially to have so many new dining options in our area. I’m enjoying sampling my way around the food hall, discovering new favorites to share with friends and family, and now with you.
The Union Street Market website (unionstreetmarket.org) posts daily hours, plus detailed listings for all the current and coming soon vendors. There’s easy parking in the garage on the north side of the campus, and the first three hours are free.
